NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Set for Return to Earth

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the vestibule between the International Space Station and the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. Clockwise from left, are NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

NASA will provide live coverage of the event, starting with hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT on March 17. The undocking process will follow, with splashdown scheduled for the evening of March 18 off the coast of Florida, USA.

NASA and SpaceX are set to bring the Crew-9 mission back to Earth after a long-duration expedition aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The four-member crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will begin their return journey on March 18, 2025.

The return was originally planned for a later date but was rescheduled due to favorable weather conditions. NASA and SpaceX mission managers have carefully assessed conditions to ensure a safe landing.

Notably, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been aboard the ISS since June 2024 due to technical issues with their original return vehicle, the Boeing Starliner. Their extended stay highlights the challenges of space missions and the importance of backup plans in human spaceflight.

The Crew-9 mission has contributed valuable scientific research to space studies, and the astronauts will bring back time-sensitive experiments for analysis on Earth. The mission’s success marks another milestone in NASA and SpaceX’s collaboration in advancing space exploration.

Watch Crew-9 return activities on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of additional platforms, including social media. For schedule information, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

For Crew-9 return, NASA’s live operations coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Monday, March 17

10:45 p.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+

Tuesday, March 18

12:45 a.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+

1:05 a.m. – Undocking

Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio only.

Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, continuous coverage will resume on March 18 on NASA+ prior to the start of deorbit burn.

4:45 p.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+

5:11 p.m. – Deorbit burn (time is approximate)

5:57 p.m. – Splashdown (time is approximate)